Def Jam: Fight for NY is the sequel to Def Jam Vendetta, a hip hop-influenced 3D fighting video game released for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox and is followed by Def Jam: Icon. The game features several rappers, including Snoop Dogg, Method Man, Redman, Fat Joe, Ice-T, Xzibit, and Busta Rhymes, as well as the voices and likeness of other actors and celebrities, among them actors Omar Epps, Christopher Judge, Danny Trejo, Carmen Electra, and Kimora Lee Simmons. The game was spun off into a 2006 PlayStation Portable game called Def Jam Fight for NY: The Takeover.The game emphasizes strikes more, as well as proper use of the arena's environment and the surrounding crowd. Tossing the opponent against barriers gives fighters the opportunity to inflict massive damage to their opponent by tossing or slamming them into the wall headfirst, or using other features of the environment, such as slamming a door or gate in their face.

The crowd will shove a fighter back into combat if he is thrown into them or gets too close, and will sometimes hold a fighter, leaving them open to attack. Some spectators carry weapons, and will offer them to the fighters, or even attack a fighter if the guy next to them holds him.

Momentum is gained by successfully performing moves, countering, and taunting the opponent. The rate at which momentum is gained is effected by the fighter's Charisma, which is set for most fighters. Created fighters can set their own charisma with a combination of clothes, tattoos, and jewelry; the more expensive, the better. A fighter with a good set of clothes, extensive tattoos, or laden with jewellery can often fill their momentum meter in just a few moves.
When the momentum meter is full, a fighter can activate it, which results in a Blazin' Taunt. In this state, the fighter is said to be "Blazin", and can pull off a Blazin' Move, a powerful and brutal attack personalized for each character. A created character can learn every single Blazin' Move in the game, but can only have up to four usable at any one time.

With the focus taken from mixed martial arts, the only way to win a fight is through Knock Out or Submission. A character can be made to submit by putting them into submission holds until the health bar of a single body part is depleted.